The  New  York  and  Brooklyn  Bridge. 


BEPORT 

OF  THE 

SPECIAL  COMMITTEE 

APPOINTED  TO  CONFER  WITH  THE   PRESIDENT  OF   THE  EDCE 
MOOR  IRON  COMPANY,  WITH   REFERENCE  TO  THEIR 
CONTRACTS  FOR  STEEL  WORK. 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


Brooklyn,  June  26,  1882. 
To  tJie  President  and  Directors  of  the  New  York  and  Brooklyn  Bridge  : 
Gentlemen — The  Committee  appointed  to  confer  with  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Edge  Moor  Iron  Company,  with  reference  to  their  contracts 
for  steel  work  for  the  Bridge,  herewith  report  that  a  conference  was 
held  with  Mr.  Sellers,  on  Wednesday,  the  21st  instant,  in  this  office, 
at  which  all  the  members  of  the  Committee  were  present.  Your  Com- 
mittee have  confined  their  inquiries  substantially  to  three  points : 

1.  Why  is  it  that,  during  all  these  last  months  of  open  working 
weather,  there  has  been  no  visible  progress  in  the  work  upon  the 
Bridge  ? 

2.  What  are  the  prospects  of  progress  in  the  near  future  ? 

3.  Is  any  course  of  action  open  to  the  Trustees  which  would  facili- 
tate the  progress  of  the  work,  and  make  it  at  once  more  certain  and 
more  rapid  ? 

The  work  of  construction  has  been  kept  at  a  stand-still  this  spring, 
because  the  Bridge  has  not  been  furnished  with  the  materials  needed 
in  the  order  of  their  need.  If,  in  the  erection  of  a  house,  you  need 
bricks  for  the  walls,  it  does  not  hurry  matters  to  receive  slates  for  the 
roof ;  you  cannot  go  on  until  you  receive  the  bricks.  During  the  last 
few  months  we  have  been  receiving  each  month  from  100  to  300  tons 
of  steel  work,  which  will  enter  into  the  superstructure  of  the  Bridge  ; 
but  the  particular  pieces  which  have  been  needed  since  the  first  of  the 
year  are  just  beginning  to  come  forward.  This  brings  us  to  the  first 
important  point  of  information  and  explanation  received  from  the 
President  of  the  Edge  Moor  Iron  Company. 

Some  months  ago  the  Bridge  reached  the  point  where  the  pieces 
known,  technically,  as  eye-bars  were  needed,  in  order  to  make  further 
progress  possible.  These  pieces  are  the  diagonal  braces  between  the 
posts  in  the  trusses  along  the  sides  of  the  roadways.  When  the 
second  contract  for  steel  woik  was  entered  into,  on  December  8,  1881, 
it  was  believed  by  Mr.  Sellers  that  these  pieces  would  be  completed 
long  before  other  portions  of  the  work.  It  was  estimated,  for  instance, 
that  it  was  eighteen  days'  work  for  the  Edge  Moor's  hydraulic  shop 
to  complete  these  eye-bars  as  far  from  the  towers  as  panel  No.  13  It 
was  supposed  at  that  time  by  the  Edge  Moor  Iron  Company  that 
these  eye-bars  could  be  made  of  steel  in  the  same  manner  as  eye-bars 
of  iron  are  made,  but  experience  proved  that  made  in  this  way  of 


4 


the  size  demanded  they  did  not  stand  the  tests  required  hy  the  speci- 
fications. Mr.  Sellers  states  that  it  has  taken  four  months  of  constant 
and  costly  experimenting  on  the  part  of  the  Edge  Moor  Iron  Company 
to  find  a  way  in  which  these  steel  eye-bars  could  be  made,  and  it  was 
only  on  the  21st  of  the  present  month  that  the  bars  out  to  pane  l  13 
were  finished  and  shipped.  As  an  interesting  illustration  of  the  fa- 
tality attending  this  enterprise,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  this  ship- 
ment, which  was  due  here  June  22,  is  still  detained  on  the  road  owing 
to  the  prevailing  strikes  among  the  freight  handlers. 

This  brings  us  to  the  present  prospect  of  progress  with  the  work. 
If  these  eye-bars  and  the  other  pieces  are  delivered  by  the  Edge  Moor 
Iron  Company  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  needed,  the  work  of 
construction  can  be  carried  forward  at  an  equal  pace  with  the  work  of 
manufacture.  So  says  Mr.  Sellers,  and  so  our  engineers  say.  It  is 
estimated  now  by  the  Edge  Moor  Iron  Company  that  the  eye-bars  will 
be  finished  by  the  31st  of  October,  and  also  all  the  rest  of  the  steel 
work  called  for  by  both  contracts.  Mr.  Sellers  says  very  emphati- 
cally that  this  calculation  includes  all  probable  delays.  It  excepts 
all  that  class  of  accidents  covered  in  the  "bill  of  lading "  phrase, 
"  the  act  of  God  and  the  public  enemies."  In  other  words,  it  includes 
ordinary  chances  of  delay,  but  not  the  extraordinary. 

It  will  be  noted  that  we  are  just  receiving  the  parts  immediately 
needed  in  the  work  of  construction.  Our  rate  of  progress  now  de- 
pends largely  upon  our  continuing  to  receive  the  needed  pieces  in  the 
right  order  from  the  Edge  Moor  Iron  Company.  The  President  of 
that  Company  pledges  himself  that  no  effort  shall  be  spared  to  deliver 
the  work  in  this  order.  The  danger  of  a  break  in  the  desired  order 
of  receipts  comes,  according  to  his  statement,  from  the  possible 
spoiling  of  material  in  the  process  of  manufacture.  Mr.  Sellers 
assured  your  Committee,  however,  that  the  work  of  this  Bridge 
should  have  precedence  over  every  other  work  in  his  Company's 
shops. 

Assuming,  then,  that  the  Bridge  continues  to  receive  the  eye-bars 
in  the  order  needed,  the  work  of  construction  will  be  rapid.  If  the 
eye-bars  and  other  pieces  come  in  the  right  order,  and  are  all  received 
by  October  31,  our  engineers  assure  us  that  the  Bridge  can  yet  be 
completed,  as  stated  in  our  memorial  to  the  Legislature,  by  the  31st 
of  March,  1883.  There  is,  of  course,  other  work  to  be  done  that  is 
independent  of  these  contracts  for  steel,  and  unexpected  delays  may 
ensue  in  connection  with  these  other  parts.  The  engineers  do  not 
anticipate  delay  from  other  causes,  however,  because  the  rest  of  the 
work  upon  the  Bridge  is  not  of  an  exceptional  character. 

And  this  suggests  our  last  inquiry,  viz.,  whether  the  work  of 
construction  could  be  hastened  in  any  way,  even  at  some  cost  to  the 
Trustees  ?   Mr.  Sellers  states  distinctly  that  this  is  impossible.  His 


0 


machinery  will  do  so  much,  and  no  more.  With  the  utmost  emphasis 
he  says  that,  were  he  to  be  paid  double  the  contract  price,  he  could 
not  advance  the  date  of  completion.  Were  he  without  his  present 
plant  of  machinery,  it  would  take  him  a  year  to  get  into  position  to 
do  the  work  he  is  turning  out  now. 

Appended  to  this  report  is  a  letter  from  Mr.  Sellers  repeating  offi- 
cially the  salient  statements  made  to  your  Committee. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

SETH  LOW. 
W.  R.  GRACE. 
ALLAN  CAMPBELL. 
LUDWIG  SEMLER. 
HENRY  C.  MURPHY. 


Edge  Moor  Ikon  Company,  ) 
Edge  Moor,  June  22,  1882.  f 

Hon.  Setii  Low,  Chairman  Committee  of  Trustees  New  York  and 
Brooklyn  Bridge,  No.  21  Water  street,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.: 

Dear  Sir — Responding  to  your  inquiries  concerning  the  work  upon 
the  New  York  and  Brooklyn  Bridge,  have  to  say  that,  in  a  letter 
dated  September  30,  to  Hon.  H.  C.  Murphy,  President  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees,  I  anticipated  that  this  Company  would  be  able  to  com- 
plete the  first  contract  for  5,500  tons  during  January,  1882,  and  a 
second  contract,  covering  about  1,200  tons,  the  amount  then  estima- 
ted would  be  required  during  May,  1882,  was  indicated,  qualified, 
however,  by  the  statement  "that  so  much  depends  upon  obtaining 
material,  that  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  indicate  a  time  more 
accurately.  You  may,  however,  rely  upon  our  using  every  exertion 
to  complete  the  work  as  rapidly  as  possible." 

At  the  time  this  letter  was  written  it  was  expected  that  the  second 
contract  would  be  awarded  at  once,  and  that  the  blooms  required  for 
its  execution  could  also  be  ordered  within  a  very  short  time  there- 
after, whereas  the  contract  was  not  executed  until  the  8t,h  of  Decem- 
ber, at  which  time  there  were  several  engineering  questions  unsettled 
which  would  modify  the  construction,  so  that  the  orders  for  material 
could  not  be  issued  earlier  than  the  month  of  January,  1882 ;  but 
long  before  this  the  Cambria  Company  had  notified  us  that  for  any 
steel  required  beyond  the  original  contract,  they  could  not  promise 
deliveries  earlier  than  January  and  February,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  final  deliveries  were  not  completed  by  that  Company  until  the 
17th  instant. 

At  the  time  the  second  contract  was  executed,  it  was  believed  that 
the  eye-bars  would  be  completed  long  before  other  portions  of  the 
work,  but  unexpected  difficulties  in  this  manufacture  have  consumed 


6 


about  four  months  in  experiments  to  remedy  them.  These  have 
finally  proved  successful,  and  all  the  bars  required  out  to  points  13 
have  now  gone  forward. 

Of  the  materials  to  come  forward  to  enable  us  to  complete  both 
contracts,  our  last  advices  are  as  follows:  9-inch  channels.  These, 
with  a  probable  exception  of  12  to  20  bars,  are  all  rolled  and  will  be 
shipped,  commencing  on  the  17th  inst.,  at  the  rate  of  one  car  load  per 
day,  this  being  the  maximum  quantity  that  can  be  straightened  and 
cut  to  length  per  day  until  all  that  are  suitable  have  come  forward, 
and  which  will  require  about  ten  days,  or  say  until  July  1st  next, 
until  their  receipt  at  these  works. 

With  reference  to  the  shortage  of  12  to  20  pieces  of  these  bars,  this 
shortage  will  be  due  to  two  causes  ;  first — condemnations  of  bars  pre- 
viously rolled ;  and  second — from  losses  in  the  present  lot.  This 
shortage  will  be  definitely  ascertained  as  soon  as  the  bars  now  rolled 
are  straightened  and  cut,  and  the  replace  blooms  necessary  to  make 
any  such  shortage  will  be  ordered  at  once. 

Six-inch  channels.  80,000  lbs.  yet  to  come  forward,  nearly  all  of 
which  will  have  to  be  rolled  from  blooms  yet  to  be  made  by  Cambria. 
These  are  all  replace  blooms,  and  the  orders  for  them  went  forward 
to  Cambria  on  the  10th  and  13th  instant,  these  being  the  earliest  dates 
at  which  the  necessary  quantity  of  blooms  could  be  definitely  ascer- 
t  lined. 

Cambria  have  advised,  under  date  of  14th,  that  their  blooming-mill 
is  broken  down  and  undergoing  general  repairs,  and  that  three  weeks 
will  be  required  to  complete  them,  so  that  these  blooms  cannot  be 
expected  to  reach  the  rolling-mill  until  about  the  middle  of  July. 

Six-inch  I  beams.  These  will  be  rolled  during  the  present  week, 
and  this  rolling  will  be  made,  if  possible,  the  final  rolling  of  this 
shape. 

Rounds  for  pins.  These  will  probably  follow  the  6-inch  beams. 
The  shipping  documents  for  the  blooms  we  received  from  Cambria  on 
the  19th  instant. 

Miscellaneous  flats  entering  into  the  construction  of  quite  all  of  the 
miscellaneous  parts.  These  are  all  rolled  upon  the  small  train,  which 
has  recently  been  undergoing  necessary  repairs.  The  rolling  will 
begin  during  the  present  week,  and  continue  consecutively  until 
finished. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  said,  without  fear  of  contradiction,  that 
the  work  covered  by  these  contracts  is  unusual  and  of  extraordinary 
character,  involving  questions  that  have  taxed  the  skill  of  both  engi- 
neers and  contractors;  that,  in  fact,  the  detail  drawings  and  the  work 
have  been  progressing  side  by  side,  the  final  details  for  important 
connections,  in  the  first  contract,  not  being  completed  until  Novem- 
ber last.    The  eye-bar  connections,  before  referred  to,  have  involved 


7 


numerous  and  costly  experiments  on  our  part  to  fulfill  the  necessary 
conditions,  and  it  is  believed  that  this  is  the  first  instance  in  the  his- 
tory of  bridge  building  when  such  bars  have  been  successfully  made 
from  flat  steel  bars  of  uniform  section  throughout. 

It  is  estimated  that  it  will  require  80  days  in  our  hydraulic  shop  to 
finish  these  bars,  which,  with  other  work  that  must  pass  through  the 
same  shop  within  that  time,  would  indicate  their  final  comple- 
tion about  the  31st  of  October  next ;  and  as  these  bars  will  probably 
take  longer  to  manufacture  than  any  other  portion  of  the  work  now 
remaining,  I  believe  the  whole  work  will  be  completed  by  that  time. 

In  completing  this  work  no  effort  will  be  spared  to  deliver  it  in  the 
order  in  which  it  must  be  erected,  so  that  the  erection  can  keep  pace 
with  the  manufacture,  and  the  final  completion  will  follow  immedi- 
ately upon  the  final  delivery. 

Respectfully, 

WM.  SELLERS, 

Prest.  E.  M.  I.  Co. 


